Head over to the official community site for details and links to the Beta Software Development Kit. Splash Damage have also set up an ETQW Mod Wiki to help us get started.

Jared 'jRAD' Hefty has posted a preview of the upcoming SDK for ETQW on the official ETQW community site. Highlights include:

• The latest C++ game code.
• Tutorial maps showing how to set up game objectives.
• Prefabs of game elements.
• The source art used to create megatextures.

As well as a whole range of editing tools. See the full story here.

We've had a few problems around here of late. For some time we have not had access to this site but that's all changed now.
Thanks to Marv at Atomicgamer and our own Knightmare this site and the forums are back online.
It's good to be back!

RUST | gamedesign.net is in bad shape. Recently we had our forums closed due to inactivity and since most of the staff members are working full-time in the game industry we don't have enough people to update site. Today I had to delete 5 users which were spamming the site and numerous spam comments. I see that we have atleast 70 users online all the time and I hope that you guys still find this site useful.

If any of the staff members is reading this, hit me up at yanostretsov[at]yahoo.com so we can go over the future of RUST.

-Method

"With the deadline having been reached, all of the entries for the Quake 4 Community Map Pak have been submitted. We have compiled the 34 maps into one pak for play testing prior to the upcoming voting process. Thanks to all of the contestants for their submissions and good luck!"

Q4CMP Submissions (zip) - DOWNLOAD NOW - (87 MB)

id Software is pleased to announce that we are holding a Quake 4 mapping contest! Quake community mappers have shown amazing talent and innovation and we would like to recognize those talents and challenge them to show us what they can do.

Prizes:
-Winning participants will have their map included in an official community map pak released by id.

Basic Rules:
-Maps must be submitted by their author and be of their own design.
-Maps may not use custom textures or models.

How are the maps being judged?
-Maps will be judged on their playability, performance, atmosphere, originality, technical quality, gametype flexibility and file size efficiency.

How many maps will be included?
-8-12 maps will be selected, spanning multiple gametypes.

Where do you send the maps?
-Map submissions should be emailed to: syncerror@idsoftware.com

Deadlines:
-The deadline for entries is January 31st.

After a few days of being down RUST | gamedesign.net is back online. Thanks to Olpainless for a quick fix.

"Every year around this time Kingpinforever.com organises a Come Back To KP Weekend. This year the weekend will commence on Friday 27th October and run through til Sunday night 29th October.

This is a weekend when we encourage as many ex-KP players to come and mix it with the current crop of KP fraggers. Basically we try and get as many people (both old, current and new players) playing as we can.

For it to be a total success though, we need you guys to help spread the word to every one on your contact lists and through your email. We want to get in touch with as many ex-players as we can and get them to re-install KP and come back and play. Everyone at KP4Ever will be doing their utmost to spread the word and help make the weekend a success.

It's just over one week away so there is time to get organised and start spreading the word but what better time than right now."

"We've been working hard and playing harder to bring you the release of version 1.3 for Quake 4. This update includes a host of new and community requested features such as: more agile player movement, weapon balance adjustments, a single ambient light option, improved rendering and cpu peformance and much more. We are also excited to introduce some brand new elements to Quake 4."

- New gametype - DeadZone
- New multiplayer weapon - Napalm Launcher
- 8 new professionally made maps
- 4 revized maps for additional DeadZone support
- "Buy" mode server option that allows you to purchase weapons and equipment.

You can grab the patch on id Software site.

Google Sketchup is a simple 3d modelling program aimed mainly at making content for Google Earth. However there is more power in there than that. The program can export models in several formats including 3DS and VRML and may be a good free way to get into modelling your own game content. From the Sketchup site:

SketchUp is a simple but powerful tool for quickly and easily creating, viewing and modifying your 3D ideas.

• Click on a shape and push or pull it to create your desired 3D geometry.
• Experiment with color and texture directly on your model.
• Real-time shadow casting lets you see exactly where the sun falls as you model.
• Select from thousands of pre-drawn components to save time drawing.